The elusive green diamond...

[annadragon]

How can I ''splain? I''ll sum up. It seemed so simple: "You pick out the ring." So, I chose... an elegant Kretchmer tension setting and a nice diamond. I got all the information together and later that night he says, "Wouldn''t you prefer something more unique? An emerald maybe?" I whimpered a little and replied, "It won''t qualify for the setting."

And now here I am in the wee hours of the morning, attempting to find information on green diamonds. Oh yes, I know they are the most rare of the colored diamonds and I''m likely chasing some silly fantasy down the rabbit hole, but if I could find one (that doesn''t cost $$$$$$$)... maybe, just maybe it could be mine

Does anyone have reputable vendor suggestions? Advice for buying a natural color diamond of this sort? Or point me to some helpful threads I haven''t encountered yet.

Thanks!
Anna

 

[Gayletmom]

Anna, I completely empathize with sitting up in the middle of the night obsessing over jewelry! I am sorry to report that I don''t know a thing about green diamonds but just a day or so ago someone on this site was recommending 23rd Street jewelers in L.A. The have some beautiful brown diamonds and other colors as well so you might try them.

My own, unsolicited advice, is to gently and carefully be sure that you get a stone and setting that you love - the likelihood is that you will be wearing it for a long time.

Good luck!

 

[cleokizzy]

The rarest is actually the red diamonds. I''ve seen blue diamonds which, relative to the red, costs much less - less meaning you have to have $$$$ to purchase a really good one.

With the ton of money that a green diamond demands, maybe a bigger, better, brilliant and very white diamond would be enough? But that is just my opinion...

I wish you all the best and hope that you find the stone your looking for!

 

[jstarfireb]

You could consider an irradiated diamond. I have a beautiful irradiated green diamond that I wear all the time! They're much cheaper than the real thing (and they're still natural diamonds, just irradiated to produce a color change).

ETA: a quick google search brought me here, but I have no idea how reputable this company is...

 

[dkodner]

Hello Anna and congratulations on your new ring and I am assuming engagement. It is true that a natural green diamond, especially one of the color you would imagine to rival an emerald, is very pricey. The one in my avatar is only a half carat, and if it were to be sold (it is not..o) ) it would be in the seven figure range. However, I think you could get a reasonably priced Olive Green coloured diamond that is natural that would be equally as distinctive and certainly beautiful. Or even a "Chameleon" , which will be Olive colour and even more unique, as it will change colours when left in darkness or heated. The trick in getting a stone that is naturally coloured for your needs specifically would be to find one that is the shape and clarity that you will want and/or need to fit into the Kretchmer mounting. I believe there are some technical aspects to the tension set that may limit how much impurity, or where it is located in the stone. A treated (irradiated) diamond is not a bad choice either. I''m not much for treated diamonds, but natural radiation is what gives a diamond it''s green colour, so it should give a similar result with a lab irradiation. I would suggest figuring out the ideal size and shape you would want for your setting, and then look at the choices and colours available within your parameters. Unfortunately nature does not give us multitudes of natural colors in all shapes and sizes, so it may take a little time to source what you want, though I think it would be worth the effort and time. You may even find a colour you did not even know existed to fall in love with. Not all natural coloured diamonds are excessively expensive, there are plenty of unique diamonds for every budget. Good luck in your search, I hope this helps.

D

 

[Moh 10]

I think there are 3 categories of green diamonds, natural, color-altered, and undetermined.
I recall reading that green diamonds give GIA more of a challenge than the other colors.

Apparently GIA cannot always positively determine if the source of the green color is natural or the result of alteration, and will write on the report something to the effect of "Source of color cannot be positively determined".
I think the price for a verified-natural is many many many many times the price for a verified-altered.
This must leave the vendor and customer struggling to find a fair price for these unverifiable greens.

Here is a rapnet link that mentions the difficulty of nailing down the source of the color in greens.
http://www.rapnet.cn/lang/en-us/news/ExportItem.aspx?ArticleID=21153&Action=Print

If I was shopping for a green I'd be super careful.
I'd hate to pay too much for what I got.

 

[diagem]

Date: 12/26/2008 12:43:27 PM
Author: Moh 10
I think there are 3 categories of green diamonds, natural, color-altered, and undetermined.
I recall reading that green diamonds give GIA more of a challenge than the other colors.

Apparently GIA cannot always positively determine if the source of the green color is natural or the result of alteration, and will write on the report something to the effect of ''Source of color cannot be positively determined''.
I think the price for a verified-natural is many many many many times the price for a verified-altered.
This must leave the vendor and customer struggling to find a fair price for these unverifiable greens.

Here is a rapnet link that mentions the difficulty of nailing down the source of the color in greens.
http://www.rapnet.cn/lang/en-us/news/ExportItem.aspx?ArticleID=21153&Action=Print

If I was shopping for a green I''d be super careful.
I''d hate to pay too much for what I got.

...., or any other natural colored Diamond....

 

[Moh 10]

Absolutely.
With so much money at stake and so few sales the trust factor involved in a colored diamond sale is huge.

Personally I'd only accept a colored diamond with a GIA report.
Next I'd have the seller send it back to GIA to re-verify the stone matches the report, and pick up personally at GIA's NY or Carlsbad facility after paying the vendor for it.

A couple years ago GIA's price for verification service with a laminated letter was just $75.

$75 is a small price to pay for the peace of mind.

 

[Miss Fortune]

If you want something green, why not get a gorgeous - more affordable emerald? Won''t everyone assume that your green diamond is an emerald anyway? Just my 2 cents. Seven digits for a half carat green diamond sounds outrageous.

 

[Moh 10]

Here is a short snip from etienneperret about the unique challenges of greens.

http://www.etienneperret.com/colored-diamonds.htm

"The situation is different with green diamonds.
The color seen in natural-color green diamonds does not result from the presence of trace elements; green diamonds owe their color to exposure to radiation as they were forming in the earth, eons ago.
This creates an unusual dilemma for gem testing laboratories because there are also treated-green diamonds that have been created by humankind using modern radiation techniques.
Since radiation is the cause of color in both cases, it poses some identification challenges for laboratories.

In some cases a natural-color green diamond will contain certain unique identifying characteristics that distinguish it from the treated stone, and in some cases a treated-green diamond will exhibit characteristics that identify it as treated.

But many green diamonds lack conclusive evidence for positive identification.
In such cases, a laboratory report will indicate that a positive determination cannot be made with gemological data currently available.
This leaves the door open to the possibility that a positive determination might be made at some future time as new data come to light from continued research and technological advances, but there are no guarantees.

In any event, if you are seeking a natural green diamond you must understand that it may be more difficult to find one with laboratory documentation confirming that the color is natural."

 

[MustangGal]

If you''re after a green stone in a tension mount, then maybe a green sapphire? I believe sapphires are hard enough for the tensions settings, and they do come in green, although not quite the same green as an emerald.

 

[annadragon]

Thank you DKodner, your assumption is correct.
Cleo, you are right red is the rarest.
After more websurfing I think a more olive, golden (not yellow) hued colored would be gorgeous in a yellow gold setting. I didn''t necessarily want a Dresden diamond (nor have I won the lottery to afford it either).
I will be very careful if this is in fact what we decide to buy. I have no problem with having GIA re-examine the stone either.
Thanks for suggestions and I''ll keep you guys updated on what treasures I find

 

[dkodner]

I like your thinking of a green sapphire mustanggal, but it may be a little dull. I have no idea whether it will hold in a tension setting, but Tsavorite Garnet would be a gorgeous alternative, it is one of my favorite green colored stones of all time.

Moh- you should certainly be very careful when looking at any coloured diamond, but you should not think everyone selling them is going to try and take advantage or rip you off. Every consumer should educate themselves, and work with educated people who specialize in color. I still believe most people in the jewelry business are honorable and would never be anything but when dealing someone. Also, the GIA is an amazing educational organization with some of the brightest minds in gemology, but they are not perfect, nor the only word in coloured diamonds. Personally I do not agree with their method of grading color. I understand it, I just think there is better, more accurate science out there. There are labs that use color science that can give you a better idea of what you truly have in a coloured diamond. That being said, The GIA is the most recognized and you SHOULD get a GIA report to accompany any other report you might have.

It is true that positively identifying green diamonds can be very difficult, and I have had diamonds that came back from the GIA as undetermined origin. It used to be a little easier in that you could sometimes detect the skin of the diamond left on the girdle and that would give you some clue to it being natural, however as usual, once that was learned, not so honorable people left some skin on the girdle and then radiated it to get the same effect. The number 1 rule in all diamonds, coloured or not, is get to know who you are buying from, and never ever ever ever (did I say that enough?) ever buy a coloured diamond (or any diamond for that matter) without seeing it in person, never buy it by paper or numbers alone.

MissFortune-I know it can be hard to imagine that such a tiny thing could be that valuable to anyone, and just because it is rare does not make it beautiful. But this little green, in particular, is my favorite diamond I have seen in my 20 years of collecting, and staring into it will take you to another world. That makes it priceless...o)

 

[MustangGal]

I just came across this concave cut sapphire. The cutting style might give you a more sparkly look than a traditional cut sapphire, and the color is pretty!
http://www.webgraphicsengineering.com/Gemstones/detail.cfm?zNum=5724

An olive colored diamond would be unique as well, just make sure that the color is something you''ll be happy with wearing everyday, even if it might "clash" with your clothing!

 

[kaori]

Hi Anna,

Like others, I have never seen a green diamond in person. However, I do recall a couple of websites that you might get such a rare diamond http://www.shenoadiamonds.com/catalog/Colored-Diamonds-p-1-c-374.html and http://rockdiamond.com/index.php/categories/loose-diamonds-fancy-colored-diamonds/page-2/

Good luck on finding your dream rock.

 

[LD]

I have several green irradiated diamonds and LOVE them. I also love the fact that they would have been that colour had nature taken it''s course! Here''s a picture of one of my favourites.

BTW Diamonds by Lauren have just sold a very faint green Asscher diamond (with green fluor) very cool and very pricey! Here''s a link to it. I''ve got to say that I bet you can hardly see the green though and it would only be in certain lights:

http://coloreddiamond.info/new-diamonds-new-jewelry/youll-never-guess-what-color-gia-called-this-asscher-cut/0/

 

[dkodner]

That''s a beautiful ring Lovingdiamonds, and a very pretty stone.

Just to be clear, red diamonds are extremely rare, but there is perceived rarity, and true rarity. Reds are perceived to be the rarest diamonds of all, and there is much folklore surrounding them. But, A pure vivid or deep green diamond is arguably just as rare, if not more so than a red. Their prices are also comparable to a red. There are also colours like pure Violet that exist in less quantities than red.

Here are a couple of olive greens that found a home christmas eve..) This would be a beautiful colour in an engagement ring.

 

[T L]

There are so many different kinds of green diamonds. The diamonds that are naturally colored by the earth's radiation are typically the most pure green and are the most expensive, and give the GIA a difficult time when grading. One of the finest colored diamonds in the world is the famous Dresden green and it was a stone colored by he earth's radiation. You can also get a yellow diamond which has a green modifier, like fancy greenish-yellow. Then there's greenish grey diamonds that can be much more affordable than the "radioactive" kind. I have such a diamond and it actually looks very different in various lighting. It can go to a forest green, teal green, minty green, grey green, in various lighting sources. I set it in rose gold, and it really enhances the green as well. It is so much fun to wear, and it has so many "personalities" that I can't stop staring at it. There's also a very rare kind of greenish olive diamond called a chameleon, and it can change color when heated or left in darkness for a period of time.

Artificially enhanced green diamonds are available as well, and that's another affordable option. If LD's diamond was a natural color, it would cost a fortune.

This one is GIA certed as fancy green, but it's very small, but you could use it as an accent stone, perhaps get another color for a side stone. If this stone were larger than a quarter carat, it would be $$$$$$.

http://www.fancycolordiamond.net/search/fancy_colored_diamond_details.cfm?id=5984

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 12/26/2008 3:09:07 PM
Author: Miss Fortune
If you want something green, why not get a gorgeous - more affordable emerald? Won''t everyone assume that your green diamond is an emerald anyway? Just my 2 cents. Seven digits for a half carat green diamond sounds outrageous.

Really great untreated emeralds are pretty unaffordable too - or at least the good ones I have seen have been in the 6 figure range...

An emerald crossed with a tension setting is a recipe for disaster, ditto for a tsavorite!

(my avatar is my tsav e-ring if you haven''t seen a tsavorite before).

 

[jstarfireb]

Oh, I forgot to mention in my earlier post...I think you should go with what YOU really want, not what you think will be more unique! IMHO, a tension setting itself is pretty darn different from everything else out there. Nothing wrong with putting a nice white diamond in it.

 

[annadragon]

Jstar, you are very right. The more I look the more I am convinced that although I could have a gorgeous stone to put into a ring it really doesn''t get me too excited. I don''t wear jewelery much or often, if ever and given the expense and time involved in choosing I''d rather stick with something a little more classic.

Sorry to get everyone all excited

BUT thank you all for the help, comments and suggestions. In the future if I want a colored diamond I will know where to look and perhaps the right people with whom to speak.

Now back to looking at all those purdy sparkly white diamonds

Thanks,
Anna

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 12/29/2008 6:00:33 AM
Author: annadragon
Jstar, you are very right. The more I look the more I am convinced that although I could have a gorgeous stone to put into a ring it really doesn''t get me too excited. I don''t wear jewelery much or often, if ever and given the expense and time involved in choosing I''d rather stick with something a little more classic.

Sorry to get everyone all excited

BUT thank you all for the help, comments and suggestions. In the future if I want a colored diamond I will know where to look and perhaps the right people with whom to speak.

Now back to looking at all those purdy sparkly white diamonds

Thanks,
Anna

Whew! I think you are making a very good decision!!!

If you haven''t looked here yet, this search tool really makes the job easy to find excellent stones. Just put excellent-excellent for cut and check GIA and AGS for labs and put in the color and clarity range you are interested in.

http://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx